"What? Lucy didn't come?"
Arriving at the guild the next day, Ankh suddenly received this news from Levy, who was organizing books at a table.
Levy nodded, shrugging helplessly as she said.
"Lucy-chan's father is going to work at Akane Resort today. She was worried about him traveling alone, so she went along to the station to see him off."
'Well,' Ankh thought with a smile, 'after clearing the air last night, it seems father and daughter really don't hold grudges overnight.'
'But...'
"Not just Lucy—where are Natsu and Gray too?" Erza frowned and asked from the side, looking at the empty table where the idiots usually fought.
Levy replied with some amusement, covering her mouth to hide a giggle.
"Natsu and Gray still seem uneasy about Jude. They were acting like bodyguards, so they went along with Lucy to the station."
Ankh didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Those two are really reliable... in their own weird way."
Mirajane made a cute face behind the counter, leaning forward to whisper gossip.
"Well, Lucy is quite popular~ It feels like both Natsu and Gray like her..."
Ankh had to agree with that point.
It was hard to define Natsu's preferred type of girl—he completely followed his own feelings and instincts.
He and Lucy were practically joined at the hip.
But as for Gray's initial ideal type, it was indeed someone like Lucy.
Probably due to his childhood experiences with his teacher, Ur, his personal ideal type tended to lean toward someone like that—a cute-looking, straightforward, and energetic type who didn't take nonsense.
So... Juvia, who started off as gloomy and stalker-ish, really began with overwhelming disadvantages...
Ankh glanced sideways.
He spotted Juvia hiding behind a pillar, eavesdropping on the conversation.
Her dark aura of dejection was practically overflowing, forming a small rain cloud over her head.
'Poor Juvia,' Ankh thought.
But then, anyone who's been in a relationship knows it's normal for your actual partner to differ from your ideal type.
There's always a gap between who you love and who you want to love.
"Wendy, did you sleep well last night?"
Seeing Wendy enter the guild holding Carla, everyone greeted her cheerfully.
"Good morning, everyone!"
Wendy politely responded to everyone, bowing constantly.
She then hopped onto a tall bar stool to order some fruit juice, while Carla chose a cup of Darjeeling tea.
"The Fairy Tail guild is really lively, isn't it?" Wendy sighed with emotion while happily drinking her juice.
"There are always so many people in the guild every day."
Carla elegantly sipped her tea, her pinky out.
She agreed reluctantly: "Although it's quite rowdy and lacks manners, I have to admit the food is much better here than at our guild."
"Really now, Carla, don't say that..." Wendy scolded softly. "Speaking of which, we've been away for many days now. We should return to the guild soon. Grandpa Robaul must be worried."
Hearing this, Ankh walked over and quickly said.
"That's no problem. Our team happens to have a mission that requires taking a ship toward that region. You can come with us then—it's safe and secure."
Wendy hesitated for a moment, thinking about the trouble, but eventually her childish reluctance to leave her new friends won out.
"Well, alright then..."
Carla comforted her while sipping tea: "It's fine, Wendy. The Guild Master is attending a conference anyway, so we wouldn't see him even if we returned immediately."
Wendy swung her legs cheerfully, her mood brightening again.
"Speaking of which, you're really amazing, Ankh-san. You get to go to such faraway places for every mission."
Ankh spread his hands helplessly. "We don't have much choice. Distant missions generally pay more, and our team has two big spenders."
He glanced at Erza and the empty seat where Lucy usually sat.
Erza nodded seriously, missing the point entirely: "Yes, we really should talk to Lucy about always remembering her rent only at the last moment every month."
Ankh couldn't help but complain: "You're one to talk! If you bought fewer sets of armor and custom clothes, you wouldn't need me to subsidize you!"
When Lucy wasn't around, someone always had to temporarily take on the role of the sarcastic character...
"Speaking of missions," Mirajane said, her expression turning serious as she looked at the job board.
"Recently they've all been this kind of subjugation mission."
Ankh leaned on the counter, looking at the job board.
It was filled entirely with high-reward requests for combat.
"It's because the Oración Seis of the Balam Alliance has been very active," Ankh explained. "The entire Oración Seis has mobilized, and their affiliated Dark Guilds are causing chaos everywhere, creating disturbances that have increased our requests."
"These scumbags really never rest for a moment."
Wendy blinked her large eyes and timidly asked in confusion, "Um... what are the Balam Alliance and that Oración Seis...?"
"Wendy doesn't know? That's fine, it's a good opportunity for us to analyze them anyway."
Ankh then called for Reedus, the guild's painter mage. "Reedus! Can you draw a diagram for us?"
Reedus, who was skilled at drawing, used his Pict Magic to sketch the general structure of the Balam Alliance in the air with glowing light.
Just at that moment, the guild doors opened.
"We're back!"
Lucy, Natsu, and Gray entered the guild.
"Huh? What's this?" Lucy stared blankly at the glowing structure diagram floating in the air, puzzled.
"Lucy? You're back. How's your father?" Ankh asked.
"Don't even mention it!" Lucy sighed, slumping. "Even though it's quite close, just a short carriage ride away, he actually asked to borrow 100,000 Jewels from me again! Dad really has no concept of money..."
Natsu immediately started eating and drinking heartily after entering the guild, ignoring the politics.
Gray, however, looked at the structure diagram in the air and said.
"Isn't this the Balam Alliance of Dark Guilds? Why are we listing them out all of a sudden?"
"Of course because they've been causing trouble again recently," Mirajane explained.
She picked up a brush, making notes and annotations on Reedus's drawing as she lectured:
"The Magic Council previously notified us that guilds need to maintain contact and strengthen cooperation. Looking at this organized chart, no wonder they emphasized that—the numbers are frighteningly large, and that's not even counting the unknown Dark Guilds."
Mirajane pointed to the three large skulls at the top of the pyramid.
"The largest force among Dark Guild organizations is the Balam Alliance. It consists of three major powers: [Grimoire Heart], [Tartaros], and [Oración Seis]. They control the majority of powerful Dark Guilds and dominate the dark world."
"Besides them," Mirajane added a separate skull to the side, "there's also [Eisenwald], which is completely separate from other Dark Guilds."
As Lucy scanned the structure chart, she suddenly pointed at one spot and exclaimed in surprise.
"Eisenwald? Isn't that the guild we encountered before with the Lullaby flute? They're also under Oración Seis..."
Laxus, who was drinking beer nearby, suddenly spoke up.
"During our previous mission, the Thunder God Tribe and I destroyed Naked Mummy, which was also a guild subordinate to Oración Seis."
"When Gajeel and I were in Phantom Lord, we also destroyed several guilds under Oración Seis," said a cheerful Juvia, who was in high spirits after seeing Gray return.
Wendy couldn't help but tremble in awe.
"Everyone is so amazing..."
Lucy hugged herself fearfully and said. "We've destroyed so many Dark Guilds... I hope they won't seek revenge."
"Don't worry about it. I heard their guild only has six members in total," the carefree Macao comforted her from a table nearby.
Mirajane shook her head, her expression grave. "Rather, the fact that just six people can become part of the Balam Alliance and control so many Dark Guilds... means they must be exceptionally powerful. Each one of them is a monster."
"About that Oración Seis you mentioned."
Just then, a short figure appeared at the entrance, casting a long shadow.
Makarov, who had been away at meetings for two days, finally returned to the guild.
He looked serious—the goofy demeanor from the parade was gone.
He walked to the center of the hall and slammed his staff down.
"It's been decided," Makarov announced grimly. "We will be the ones to subdue them!"
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